A thesis based in a game
Author
Hello,
I am 9th semester student of Systems Engineering and my proposal for a game as my thesis have been approved. Right now I am facing to major difficulties, (1) An idea for my game, and (2) a methodological approach for the design.
If I had the idea now I could start developing my game using whatever technology (though OpenGL is very probably my bet) however the main concern is the design and study report (thesis) per se. I am very lost in how I will face this issue. Please I need help in the methodological part of my thesis, I don't have to do any development now, just the design and the report. If you consider to help me you may want to know that I am all alone in this and at my college only few or none can help me in this area.
Regards, Jorge
If the thesis is about the methodology for developing a game, and not about the graphical component, you might want to consider using a 3rd party graphics engine, like Ogre. If you learn a bit on how to use that you won't have to worry about coding all the graphics stuff yourself.
And anyway about the methodology, does it matter if what you put down as the initial approach is completely wrong?
Wouldn't it still be okay if halfway through the report you put in "my previous methodology didn't work, so I changed to something that works. This is why it works better than what I had, blah, blah"
What would be wrong with that?
If that is okay, you could probably just brainstorm a bunch of ideas, come up with something and put that in, knowing that it will have to be changed and refined.
And anyway about the methodology, does it matter if what you put down as the initial approach is completely wrong?
Wouldn't it still be okay if halfway through the report you put in "my previous methodology didn't work, so I changed to something that works. This is why it works better than what I had, blah, blah"
What would be wrong with that?
If that is okay, you could probably just brainstorm a bunch of ideas, come up with something and put that in, knowing that it will have to be changed and refined.
If you need an idea for the game, my advice to you would be to think about hummingbirds. Or the early Catholic church.
Quote:Original post by superpig
If you need an idea for the game, my advice to you would be to think about hummingbirds. Or the early Catholic church.
Or perhaps some sort of strange combination of the two: The CIA and Cooking, Hummingbirds, Sex and the Catholic Church.
Disclaimer: As far as I could see, it's not really a site about hummingbirds and the catholic church, but the coincidence in the title was too much to pass up.
Anyway, how long should the game take to complete? If you grab a 3rd party open source graphics engine, you could probably hack up a basic 3d game in a semester, depending on how experienced you are.
Or, you could take the focus off the graphics and have a 2d game more geared towards strategy and gameplay.
It really depends on the subject of the thesis and what it is supposed to demonstrate.
Author
Thanks, I am aware of the difficulties, but to get started now, what I need is the proper methodological help, which is something I came here to find. There has never been a thesis like this in my university.
By the way I have about a year to complete my game. (So I'm using two subjects for the same purpose in the span of two semesters)
To make things clear, I am a programmer, so my intention is to fully develop the game, unfortunately I still need to provide a methodological ground support (a report) for my thesis. Other thesis generally have a methodology; like "Introduction, The Problem, The Goals, The Scope".
Is there a known methodology for game development or maybe I need to use the conventional (as stated above) and somehow make it work for game? Either way I need your help there. Thanks.
By the way I have about a year to complete my game. (So I'm using two subjects for the same purpose in the span of two semesters)
To make things clear, I am a programmer, so my intention is to fully develop the game, unfortunately I still need to provide a methodological ground support (a report) for my thesis. Other thesis generally have a methodology; like "Introduction, The Problem, The Goals, The Scope".
Is there a known methodology for game development or maybe I need to use the conventional (as stated above) and somehow make it work for game? Either way I need your help there. Thanks.
Well, it's not a clearly defined methodology, but you may wish to think about the following things:
- What makes your game different from the others already on the market?
- Which other games is your game similar to (important in establishing a marketing standpoint)
- What's the audience for your game?
- What're the minimum hardware/software requirements for your game?
Author
Hi, thanks again.
Let me explain again, (this time simpler) what I am asking here.
In my school, each thesis is a report with some methodology (structure): Introduction, Problem Explanation, Objectives, Theoretical Bases, etc.
In my game design and development I have no idea how to adapt it to this structure. Say I am developing SimCity (for the sake) how could I develop the:
1. Title.
2. The Problem. (Really what is the problem here? Lack of entertainment)
3. Objectives.
4. Theoretical bases.
Thanks!
Let me explain again, (this time simpler) what I am asking here.
In my school, each thesis is a report with some methodology (structure): Introduction, Problem Explanation, Objectives, Theoretical Bases, etc.
In my game design and development I have no idea how to adapt it to this structure. Say I am developing SimCity (for the sake) how could I develop the:
1. Title.
2. The Problem. (Really what is the problem here? Lack of entertainment)
3. Objectives.
4. Theoretical bases.
Thanks!
Aside from the theoretical bases, your thesis structure can translate almost directly into a basic design doc format.
Title - meaning unchanged
Problem - an overview of your game, including the general gameplay mechanics, themes, technical focuses, etc. Describe what you are trying to accomplish.
Objectives - a comprehensive list of all the features the game will include.
Theoretical bases - this is where it gets a little murkier. Depending on whether you're focusing on the technology end or the gameplay end, you may have different things here. If you're focusing on the technology end (which I assume you are for Systems Engineering), there are lots of different theoretical resources in the realm of computer graphics, procedural content generation, game engine architecture, networking, physics, etc. If you're focusing on the gameplay end, there are still some resources out there.
Cheers,
--Brian
Title - meaning unchanged
Problem - an overview of your game, including the general gameplay mechanics, themes, technical focuses, etc. Describe what you are trying to accomplish.
Objectives - a comprehensive list of all the features the game will include.
Theoretical bases - this is where it gets a little murkier. Depending on whether you're focusing on the technology end or the gameplay end, you may have different things here. If you're focusing on the technology end (which I assume you are for Systems Engineering), there are lots of different theoretical resources in the realm of computer graphics, procedural content generation, game engine architecture, networking, physics, etc. If you're focusing on the gameplay end, there are still some resources out there.
Cheers,
--Brian
Author
Thank you all, I must say that that is the most helpful info I have received in a way. Now I am wondering how to actually do the "problem" part, I wish there were a similar thesis I could use to read.
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